Chapter 163: Blazing Escape

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Lan An ignored the probing gazes. Accepting a mission to distant Hai Zhou Continent naturally drew attention, but Spirit Fusion Grass was the key to crafting the Fire Fusion Pill. He couldn't pass it up.

Besides, exploring Hai Zhou Continent the homeland of Ji Bing and Ji Ya would broaden his horizons.

"Let's go!" Lan An glanced at Xiao Qing Xuan, leading her out of the Mission Hall.

Xiao Qing Xuan, introverted by nature, nodded silently, trailing him without a word.

As they exited, Lan An raised an eyebrow. Two figures approached familiar faces: Lin Tai (Lâm Thái) and Li Kang (Lê Khang).

Spotting Lan An and Xiao Qing Xuan, the duo bowed hastily, slinking aside.

Clearly, they no longer dared to cross him.

Lan An paid them no mind, brushing past.

He bore no deep grudge against them. If they ceased their antagonism, he wouldn't stoop to settle petty scores.

Lin Tai and Li Kang sighed in relief, grateful for his indifference.

In this world, some arrogantly court disaster, while others retreat wisely from the abyss. Lin Tai and Li Kang were the latter.

This was a mere footnote in Lan An's journey, but for them, it was their wisest choice.

"You're aiming to craft the Fire Fusion Pill?" Xiao Qing Xuan broke her silence, her tone flat.

"Indeed. You know of it?" Lan An's eyes lit up.

"I do, but I lack the skill to refine it," Xiao Qing Xuan nodded, candid.

Crafting the Fire Fusion Pill required a Sixth-Turn Alchemist. As a Fifth-Turn Alchemist, she fell short.

Lan An wasn't discouraged, grinning confidently, "I'll help you break through to Sixth-Turn soon. Then, you can craft the Fire Fusion Pill for me. A fair trade, yes?"

Xiao Qing Xuan pouted, skeptical. The path of an Alchemist was grueling, demanding Fire and Wood attributes, superhuman diligence, and patience.

Advancing required vast knowledge of herbs and pills, but above all, it was a money-burning profession. Progress wasn't just about cultivation it demanded relentless pill refinement.

Failure meant losing all materials and effort, and high-grade materials weren't cheap.

To ascend, an Alchemist endured countless failures, forging experience through ruin.

Guided by an Eighth-Turn Alchemist mentor, Xiao Qing Xuan had paid a fortune to reach Fifth-Turn. Her thousand-plus failed refinements could've sustained a Seventh-Grade Clan.

She'd risked her life gathering materials in perilous lands, refining what she could. To avoid exposing her identity, she never took commissions, leaving her destitute the poorest Fifth-Turn Alchemist on the continent.

Her struggles were unimaginable.

Yet this Lan An, ignorant of alchemy, boasted he'd propel her to Sixth-Turn swiftly. How could she believe him?

Sensing her doubt, Lan An smiled mysteriously, thinking, Once I secure the Spirit Fusion Grass, we'll negotiate again.

"We head to Hai Zhou Continent tomorrow. Need to prepare anything?" he asked.

"Nothing," Xiao Qing Xuan shook her head. A lone wanderer, she was unburdened, ready to leave anytime.

"Then stay at Niang Zi Faction for now. I have matters to settle."

That night, in a secluded corner of the Academy…

Lan An leaned against a tree, eyes closed, as a soft voice reached him: "Master…"

A girl in black, shrouded in secrecy, appeared stealthily.

"Han Shen, any noteworthy news?" Lan An asked.

Han Shen scanned the surroundings, reporting respectfully, "Most new students are adapting, exchanging Accumulation Points for items and entering seclusion, keeping things calm. However…"

"What is it?" Lan An raised an eyebrow.

"A shocking event occurred outside. Yan Clan's Matriarch, Yan Yue Qi, ambushed the Lan Clan, leaving Patriarch Lan Po Lei and ten elders battered," Han Shen said with admiration.

"Is she unharmed?" Lan An shot upright, his eerie white eyes glowing in the dark.

Startled, Han Shen replied quickly, "Matriarch Yan left unscathed. The continent's in an uproar."

"That woman…" Lan An's heart softened, a trace of tenderness in his gaze.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"With my status, that's all I've gathered," Han Shen said apologetically.

"You've done well. What faction are you in?" Lan An encouraged.

"I and two Han Clan members are in Blazing Flame Faction," Han Shen answered honestly.

"Not bad," Lan An noted, recalling the Han Clan's proximity to the Yan Clan. Their infiltration made sense.

"Who leads Blazing Flame Faction?"

"A man named Yan Shang, Late Spirit Transformation, in the Academy for nearly sixty years. He's the son of the Yan Clan's Grand Elder and Yan Ri's elder brother," Han Shen reported respectfully.

"Good. Gain the trust of those brothers. Report any unusual activity to me," Lan An instructed, suspecting Yan Ri's lingering obsession with his women since Yan Hong Lian's thrashing.

"Here's five thousand Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones. Use them wisely." Handing her a pouch, Lan An vanished.

"I won't fail you, Master," Han Shen vowed, slipping away.

The next morning…

At Sacred City's gates, a poised youth emerged.

Lan An had learned that reaching Hai Zhou Continent required multiple teleports through various cities—a long journey.

For a Nascent Soul cultivator capable of flight, it was manageable. He estimated ten days, barring mishaps.

Sacred City was oddly primitive for its grandeur, lacking Myriad Treasure Pavilion branches or teleportation arrays.

The elders' logic tearing space was enough, rendering arrays wasteful left Lan An grinding his teeth, forced to travel on foot.

"The next stop is White Jade City, over ten thousand miles west of Sacred City."

With that, Lan An accelerated, unleashing Phantom Charm Wander Step (Mị Ảnh Tiêu Dao Bộ), his form darting like a specter.

Hundreds of meters behind, a girl leisurely followed, as if they were strangers.

A thousand miles from Sacred City, trouble struck.

"Arhat Demon-Subduing Formation!"

A thunderous shout echoed, golden light blazing.

From the clear sky, twelve burly, bare-chested monks with thick brows and fierce eyes materialized, encircling Lan An.

Their auras surged, shaking the heavens. Their hands wove seals, their power synergizing, locking space itself.

The Arhat Demon-Subduing Formation twelve monks embodying Arhats, trapping their target at the center, crushing them with relentless physical force. Below Void Refinement, only death awaited.

Lan An stood at the formation's heart, facing twelve Spirit Transformation monks five Early, four Mid, three Late their combined might immobilizing him.

"Five Early Spirit Transformation, four Mid, three Late, forming a formation against a Nascent Soul? Mortal Hidden Temple truly honors me! Hahaha!" Lan An roared with laughter, his voice mocking.

Yet inwardly, he was wary. These monks had evaded his Thousand-Star Perception (Thấu Thị Vạn Lý), suggesting a Void Refinement mastermind hiding them in space.

"You fiend, colluding with demons, slaying our disciple, yet you dare act arrogant?" one monk bellowed, eyes blazing.

"Haha, your disciple Fan Shan consumed Vampire Blood during the trial to boost his strength. Wasn't he the demon?" Lan An sneered, retorting disdainfully.

"You… Junior Brother Fan Shan was merely misguided. How can he compare to a fiend like you, consorting with demonesses?" another monk roared.

"Exactly! No comparison!" the others jeered.

"Haha, what a Mortal Hidden Temple shameless hypocrites. Today, I've seen it all!" Lan An snarled.

"Why waste words on this fiend? Crush him! Before the Arhat Demon-Subduing Formation, only death awaits below Void Refinement!" another growled.

"Full power!" the twelve Arhats roared in unison.

Golden Arhat phantoms shimmered around them, their force converging on Lan An from all directions.

His body felt crushed by ten thousand tons, veins throbbing, bones creaking.

The formation not only restrained him but aimed to grind him to paste.

An ordinary Nascent Soul would've perished, but Lan An was a Fourth-Turn Body Cultivator.

After refining the Eight Desolations Heaven-Sweeping Flame with Qin Meng Ying, his Body Cultivation had reached Late Fourth-Turn.

How could he fall so easily?

Still, surrender wasn't his style.

In his eerie eyes, purple flames flickered.

Violet flames erupted, engulfing him.

"Violet-Gold Sacred Flame?" Xiao Qing Xuan and her hidden soul gasped from a safe distance, stunned.

They hadn't sensed Lan An's Strange Flame before, a testament to the Immortal Genesis Core's concealment. Even a Tribulation Stage cultivator couldn't detect it unless he revealed it.

During the first trial, Lan An had used both Strange Flames to achieve peak spiritual purity, alerting the Academy's elders. Xiao Qing Xuan, too distant then, hadn't noticed, nor had her soul.

The purple flames burned relentlessly, warping space into nothingness.

The Violet-Gold Sacred Flame had matured.

During dual cultivation with Qin Meng Ying, Lan An had fed a sliver of Eight Desolations Heaven-Sweeping Flame's energy to the Violet-Gold Sacred Flame.

The ninth-ranked flame devouring the sixth-ranked one's power, it gained the ability to burn space.

Space around Lan An vaporized, stunning the monks.

SCREECH!

A majestic Fire Phoenix formed, its wings spanning dozens of meters, sweeping wide.

Where they passed, space collapsed into black holes.

Monks too close lost balance, some scorched by the Strange Flame, their flesh charred, bones exposed, howling in agony, faces ashen.

The Arhat Demon-Subduing Formation shattered.

"Die, all of you!" Lan An roared, radiating fury.

The monks braced, channeling power, no longer underestimating the Sacred Lotus Champion.

Whoosh!

A strange sound echoed, and Lan An vanished.

"Careful!" one monk warned, raising defenses.

The others nodded gravely.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two more faint sounds followed, fading.

To the monks' bulging eyes, the youth who'd seemed poised for a desperate fight had fled.

Far off, they glimpsed Lan An's back as he darted into Sacred City's gates.

Silence fell.

The monks stood dumbfounded.

He fled? The champion fled?

Weren't you just terrifying? Didn't you wield a mighty Strange Flame?

Why run?

Even the Void Refinement monk hidden in space was dazed, feeling like he'd dreamed it all.

He'd planned to strike when Lan An clashed with the twelve, delivering a fatal blow.

Yet the youth, moments ago roaring defiantly, had used Speed Shift thrice to escape to Sacred City without warning.

Even a Void Refinement cultivator couldn't react in time.

"By Amitabha's bloody grace, Sacred Lotus Champion, have you no shame?"

A furious roar shook the wilds, trembling low-rank beasts cowering on the ground.